when first diagnosed i was given diclofenic but gp took of me because i have high blood pressure this medication helped me a lot, then i was given celobix this hardly touched the pain and i got awful wind with it and gained wieght which when u are over wieght already u dont need extra pounds. i now take a high dose of co-codamol which is very good for pain relive, but it makes me sleepy which is no good when i have a 5 and 7 year old. what other pain relieve options is there out there,

11 Replies

Hi, Having 2 small children your worried about caring for the best advice I could give is; go see your doctor about pain relief or ask to be referred to a pain management clinic. I too was taken off Diclofenac some yrs ago due to high risk of Heart Disease and other nasty effects of long term use, I was given Naproxen as a replacement.

Most of us on here take a combination of quite strong pain relief and muscle relaxants such as Codine phosphate, Tramadol, Amytriptyline etc or drugs of that sort of strength under different brand names.

Speak to your doctor or consultant about a stronger combination of pain relief.

Good luck, hope you get something sorted.

Beth x

5 years agoHidden

Speak to your Gp,, pain relief is a very personal thing, different drugs suit different people, especially if like yourself they have other conditions like high blood pressure x

5 years agoHidden

Hi DA

i too was taken off the diclofenac and put on naproxen 3 times a day - don't think it is as good, i also use the strong dose of co-codamol and sometimes tramadol - really don't like tramadol as it makes me a bit whoozy. I have found the more i take co-codamol the less tired i am - used to only take it at night but take it before driving to work now and the tiredness does not effect me as much. I think it is a bit less effective the more i take but it does get me through the morning.

I am full of admiration for you coping with two wee ones, you have to be on your toes all the time - i have a 10 and 6 year old and it makes a big difference with them being that bit older.

I also take a high dose of cocodomols and if I take two at a time it makes me drowsy and sleepy. So I tend to only take it at home and use the lower dose when at work, although its not affective as a pain relief, but can't teach with higher dose.

Naxproxen I find is for mild to moderate pain and for me the best nsaid was arcoxia both 90 mg and 120mg during flares.They are cox 2 inhibitors, so don't upset the stomach, but there is some link with increased heart disease - but no more than the other nsaid in my opinion. These for me do the trick. I have a dormant heart murmur, but my priority was pain relief and they did work, just hope that I don't need them long term.

I sympathise, perhaps if you use a range of pain relief according to your situation, i.e if you are on your own you take a pain relief that will not knock you out etc. My gp understands and prescribes both strengths for me and I take the weaker strength for the days I am at work etc.

No I had none. In fact I had no side affects, but did not take it for long, before I was stopped and given steriods to go with mtx. I took arcoxia regularly for about a month.

Hope that helps,

Sci x

5 years agoHidden

Hi Dawn,

I use ibuprofen 400 x 3 a day at mealtimes plus a stomach protector and a high dose of codeine and paracetamol (seperated out but taken together as required) at night plus 20mgs of Amitriptyline - which doubles as an antidepressant and cure for neuralgic type pain.

The only thing that really helps me is a strong co-codimol at night (it makes me sleepy) and max dose of ibuprofen regularly - and I find I have to have 24 hours off ibuprofen once a week because it stops working after a week of taking 24/7 for me otherwise. For some reason my GP won't prescribe Naproxen or Tramadol for me and Diclofenac made me sick. I don't know if this is budget related or whether it's because he thinks the side effects might not be good for me but so far Ibuprofen is the one I really depend on most. Having my 24 hour break from ibuprofen now and my hands and wrists are so painful now - Im gritting teeth -but at least I know it does work for me and roll on tomorrow! Tilda x

I take 8 paracetamol a day as advised and then add in as required.The add ons include up tp 8 codeine daily,naproxen and i have morphine patches for extreme pain(i try not to use these as the side effects are not nice).Ask your GP if you have a pain clinic in your area - they are the experts and can talk through your options with you

My GP put me on di-hydracodiene which worked really well with pain relief and also tiredness.Being slow release there is no need to take pain killers all day long. But I also have co-codamol for when pain is high and naproxen.I also do not go anywhere without my freezespray!!!!!!!